The county executive has been put on the spot over failure to implement resolutions passed by MCAs.
County attorney Lydia Kwamboka has been accused of failing to gazette bills passed by the assembly.
Budget and Appropriations Committee chairperson Robert Mbatia accused the county attorney of failing to publish in the Kenya Gazette several bills passed by the county assembly.
This comes after city residents raised concerns over a plan by City Hall to charge parking fees within residential areas in the capital.
“The Finance Bill, 2019 was passed by the assembly in 2019 but never came into effect because it was neither assented to nor published in the Kenya Gazette as is required by law, specifically Article 199 of the Constitution,” Mbatia said.
He also noted that the Finance Bill, 2020, was not considered by the assembly because of the county attorney’s failure to publish it in good time.
“The last complete review of taxes, fees and charges was undertaken through the Finance Bill, 2018 and the subsequent Finance Act, 2018. This has brought confusion on what exact law is currently being applied to charge taxes,” Mbatia said.
He quoted other Acts touching on revenue administration, advertising, transport and trade licensing, among others, which have never been published to pave way for their operationalisation as a result of alleged negligence by the county attorney.
However, in her defense Kwamboka told the Star that her office only gazettes what has been assented to by the governor.
“These are just accusations from some MCAs. If the governor fails to assent to a bill that is not my office’s failure. My office only gazettes bills once assented to by the governor. We cannot publish what has not been assented to. Once gazetted it becomes law,” she said.
